


Moving Van Mistakes

by shipskicksandgiggles



Series: tumblr prompts [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Harley is a dick, I'd say sorry but, Infidelity, M/M, Rooftop Meetings, boys crying, i'm not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21740842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shipskicksandgiggles/pseuds/shipskicksandgiggles
Summary: A week before he moves back home, Harley makes the biggest mistake of his life
Relationships: Harley Keener/Peter Parker
Series: tumblr prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1566982
Comments: 5
Kudos: 109





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> based on a kissing prompt: post breakup

“Harley? Why are you on the roof?”

A familiar red shape landed next to him. Peter ripped off his mask, making his curls flop over his face. “Are you crying?”

He held in a sob. “I’m so sorry, darlin’.” This time he didn’t try to muffle the broken gasp.

“What are you sorry for? Are you hurt?”

The taller boy shook his head. “Honey, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

“Petey I-”

If Harley was crying, Peter knew he was utterly fucked. “You’re scaring me, Harles, c’mon baby spit it out so we can fix it.”

“We can’t fix this one.”

“That’s not true. We can fix anything. Dream team interns even though Mr. Stark calls us disasters! It’s what we do.”

“Not this time!” Harley yelled.

“Why not!” Harley’s resulting flinch made Peter soften. That is until-

“I cheated on you,” he whispered.

“…you what?”

“I cheated. And before you ask, no I wasn’t drunk. Wasn’t high. I was fully aware of my actions. Eugene didn’t push himself-”

“Flash? You cheated on me? With motherfucking FLASH?” An angry Peter Parker was terrifying. His eyes looked like they were about to start glowing red any second. 

“I have no excuses, Peter really-”

“And with you moving back to Tennessee next week? You were so unsatisfied with me that you couldn’t even keep it in your pants until you could be with a guy I didn’t know,” Peter scoffed. He had started pacing across the roof. Each point was emphasized with his moving hands. 

Tears flowed freely down Harley’s face as he looked to the sky. “I know I did you wrong, Peter, but I do love you. I never wanted this to happen.”

“Obviously not if you did it,” Peter hissed, now so close he could spit on Harley’s face if he wanted. He wondered if he would.

Harley reached for his face slowly, as if he wasn’t sure he could. The tears Harley hadn’t noticed gathering in Peter’s eyes started falling as he closed his eyes at the contact and leaned into the touch. 

They grew closer together until their foreheads touched. Until they closed the last of the distance for a desperate kiss. Harley’s hands gripped Peter’s hair like it was the only thing keeping them from drifting apart. Peter kept his hands resolutely at his sides.

Peter broke away first. “I can’t do this anymore, Harley. I hope you get home safely and I wish you the best.” He batted Harley’s hands away and pushed at his chest. “You have a bright future, don’t waste it, okay?”

“Okay,” Harley spoke softly, not wanting to break the moment, whatever it was. 

“Goodbye, Harley. And for the record, I love you too.”

Peter shot a web onto the next building and swung away.

~~~

Harley let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He really hoped that detaching himself from Peter would make it easier to move back to Rose Hill, but when was anything ever that easy? Flash had been more than willing, and the sex wasn’t bad. It was just that he couldn’t stop thinking about Peter. 

In that moment, under the night sky on a rooftop, all alone, Harley Keener realized that he made the biggest mistake of his life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been years since they last spoke. What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so I gave Harley my own future dog. also idk if i mentioned, but Harley's purpose for cheating was to make the separation easier I forgot

Moving back to Tennessee gave Harley the exact peace of mind he needed. His phone had been on lockdown since he got on his flight. Flash kept messaging him during his last week in New York and he was sick of it. So sick of it, he really thought he was gonna vomit if he saw Flash’s contact picture ever again.

Peter hadn’t texted him at all. Not even a confirmation that he got Harley’s ‘hey I got home safe’ text. He wasn’t sure if he preferred radio silence to the opposite.

He threw himself into work. The town mechanic had been looking for a replacement, and Harley was supposedly the best man to take over.

So here he was, 19 years old, heartbroken and working on cars like he was probably destined to do since the beginning.

~~~

Years passed and he got his life together. He got over Peter, inherited the shop from the elderly mechanic, started making enough money to keep himself above water. Hell, he was even able to comfortably help push Abbie through community college.

Life was pretty good. At 27 years old, he owned a house, a business, and a dog named Ewok. Sure he hadn’t gone on a date in 8 years, but it was a reasonable sacrifice for what he had now. He was happy, and that’s what matters.

Business was rarely slow at the shop. It wasn’t always cars. Tractors seemed to break down easy, and riding mowers weren’t built like they used to. It was old mechanics. None of the electrical shit from New York. Nothing to remind him of the life he left behind.

On one of the rare slow days, the only person who walked in was from out of town. Probably from a big city based on how nice the car was. Most locals owned pick ups or motorcycles. Audi’s weren’t exactly common in Rose Hill.

“C’mon Ewok, we gotta a visitor. Let’s go say hi!”

Harley rolled back his chair and started into the garage. Ewok was way ahead of him, probably on her way to tackle the stranger.

“Woah hey there!” The new voice was masculine, but soft. It was so familiar, it made Harley ache just a little.

“Howdy! What can I do you for?” he asked, walking around the corner. He was faced with the sight of his Goldie trying to lick the face of the guy in a sharp suit.

“I-uh- my car is acting up? Normally I’d fix it myself, but I’m late to a conference in Nashville and I don’t have the tools I need with me,” the guy tried pushing Ewok down while he explained.

“Yeah, alright let me take a look darlin’. Let’s go fix the nice man’s car, Ewok.”

The man handed Harley the keys, and Harley got to work.

“Wait, I’m sorry did you say your dog was named Ewok? Like from Star Wars?” The guy was watching over the whole process of fixing a car, and _that’s_ what he was interested in? Okay.

“Yeah. I moved back here after a really bad break up, and getting a dog really helped. I always compared him to a Golden Retriever, so getting her was completely natural in a way. We always play fought over which was better, Star Wars or Star Trek, so naming her Ewok kinda felt like me getting the last word in, ya know?” He didn’t know why he was spilling his guts to this guy. It just felt natural.

“Seriously? I think Data is a much better name,” he teased.

“Nope that’s it. Out of my shop. You can find another mechanic if you really think Star Trek is better, you heathen.”

“I missed this, Harles. I missed _you_.”

That made Harley stop dead. “Peter?” he asked hesitantly.

“You didn’t recognize me?”

“I- no. You look different. Good. How’s Stark treating you?” Well, may as well put up the shield now.

“Tony retired. Passed the company on to me. That’s why I’m going to Nashville. Something about a agriculture branch that needs funding.”

“I see.”

The silence between them was heavy enough to be cut with a knife. Harley made quick work of the rest of the car (a transmission error probably caused by the dramatic change in terrain).

“Okay, you should be good to go. Give me a sec to pull up the bill-”

“Harley, talk to me. I really did miss you after you left New York. I want to catch up.”

“You’ll be late for your conference. You could have just flown and this wouldn’t have happened.”

Peter laughed bitterly. “Look at you, all grown up. I was right about you having a bright future. You made something of yourself. I’m proud of you.”

“It took a lot of work,” Harley sighed. “After I left, I was broken. Aimless. I never stopped regretting what I did to you, so I threw myself into this. Inherited it when the old man retired. Coped, recovered, got over you. It took so much work and I can’t afford to go back and do it all again.”

Peter looked like he was about to argue, but thought the better of it and nodded. He pulled a business card from his wallet and wrote something on the back. “For in case you lost my number. At the very least, I want to become friends again. I could use the other half of the Dream Team once in a great while.”

“Even over long distance?”

“Even then.”

They stared at each other for a moment before Harley accepted the card. “Alright, Parker but no funny business.”

He held up his hands in mock surrender. “Never. It was good to see you again, Harles,” Peter said and he pulled out his credit card.

“You too Pete.” The payment went through with a quiet beep. “Next time you want to come and see me, don’t break your car to do it, okay?”

“Okay.”

Their gaze held for a moment too long. Harley coughed and started to walk back to his office. “Good luck at the conference, kid. Not that you’re actually gonna need it-”

“But it’s the thought that counts,” Peter finished.

Harley nodded and disappeared behind the door, Ewok traveling in his wake.

~~~

The door closed behind him, but Peter stayed for a few more seconds, waiting for it to open back up and welcome him in.

It didn’t, but Peter could hope. _Maybe someday_ , he thought. _But not today. Not today._

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr at [with-this-pen-as-my-s-h-i-e-l-d](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/with-this-pen-as-my-s-h-i-e-l-d)


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